Candidate for
United States Representative; District 5

I was born and raised in Sacramento and am proud to have returned home with my husband Paul to raise our three boys--Río, Kai and Narrah. A graduate of Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I work as the Executive Dean of the University of Northern California, Lorenzo Patiño School of Law, a small, community-oriented, law school.

I love being involved in my community, whether that means sitting on my son's school's steering committee, working with the Southside Park and East Sacramento neighborhood associations in their efforts to achieve more equitable distribution of social services, or sitting on the board of the Women's Civic Improvement Center (WCIC) in Oak Park.

A lover of the arts with an M.F.A. in theatre (I wrote, produced and performed the one-person show "You Don't Look Mexican," which enjoyed a very successful run at the 24th Street Theatre and toured the western United States), I have put my theatre background to use in the community. I have staged benefit performances for the Sacramento AIDS Foundation and my high school scholarship fund, as well as directed an at-risk youth theatre project for the benefit of the Unity Council and the Urban League.

As a politically active Democrat, I have championed many social justice issues including the No on 22 campaign, Justice for Janitors, and the Living Wage campaign. A committed environmentalist, I currently serve as the Treasurer for the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS).

When I ran for Mayor in 2000 and received over 10,000 votes, I proved that Sacramento would vote for a Democrat who championed the homeless, the poor, and the politically disenfranchised. We need to build on our recent local successes such as defeating the publicly financed arena plan, the battle for a living wage and electing a progressive Democrat to the Assembly. Let's work together to remake the Democratic Party into the party that will retake the presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives.

I am not afraid to speak out on your issues. I will not be beholden to big money. I will stay involved in my community. I want to represent you. I ask for your vote on March 8th.